Hope
by spiritlight25
Summary: Sometimes, all you need is a little pick me up.


This is just a simple story I whipped up after playing Pikmin for the very first time. I immediately grew to love it, despite some frustrations. Let me know what you think of this. Any feedback on improvement is greatly appreciated.**

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**Hope**

"Everyone seems to be accounted for…" Olimar blew his whistle to dismiss the Pikmin for the day. The creatures obeyed and retreated into their respective Onions, awaiting a new day to follow their captain. Now alone in the landing site, Olimar gazed up at the ship behind hm. He sighed.

"Eleven days have passed and so far I've managed to get eight parts of my ship." He looked down at the whistle in his hand. For the past week and a half, the Pikmin were making some progress in helping repair the Dolphin. Today they had managed to recover three pieces but at the cost of losing some of the adorable little creatures. Olimar could still recall the high-pitched squeak of a Pikmin ringing in his ears. He would turn only to see the poor thing devoured or squashed as its little spirit would slowly drift upward and vanish into the air.

"Those poor Pikmin… " Olimar whispered. But he couldn't let his emotions cloud over his mission. He had to get home and to do so, sacrifices have to be made.

More nocturnal creatures were beginning to emerge from their slumber. The captain blew his whistle once more in case any wandering Pikmin were near before boarding his ship. The engine roared to life as the Dolphin rose into the night sky with the Onion right below it.

The morning sun was beginning to shine above Olimar's next destination: the Forest of Hope. After discovering the blue Pikmin, he thought perhaps he could retrieve the remaining parts here before returning to the Forest Navel. That seemed like a good plan.

He exited the Dolphin and was about to call out the Pikmin when he noticed that the sun wasn't completely above the horizon. He looked at his whistle then at the Onions.

"I guess it's a little early." Deciding to let the Pikmin rest a little, Olimar sat down in the center of the clearing. He picked at the blades of grass beside him, his thoughts rewinding back to his home planet. Did his boss even notice his absence? What about his family? Did they think he was still on vacation? Did they know if something had happened? What if he never made it home?

Olimar looked up at the S.S. Dolphin's reclaimed parts. He kept his eyes on two of the parts that were dear to him, the Sagittarius and the Libra. Both were given to him by his children. Olimar knew that they would be worried if something were to happen. He didn't want to cause anyone concern.

"Please let me be able to get back home…"

Suddenly, a sound caused the small Hocotatian to jump in his spot. It was a high-pitched sound, a squeak. He glanced around the area. What was at first speculated to be a Bulborb turned out to be a lone red Pikmin standing below its Onion. Olimar walked over to it, curiosity now replacing fear and worry.

"Hey. What are you doing up so early?"

The little Pikmin scurried over to its commander and patted his hand where the whistle rested in. It began to recreate the high-pitched sound the whistle emitted whenever used. Olimar couldn't help but chuckle at the Pikmin's antics.

"It's still early," he said. "I'll call you out in a little while, okay?"

The little Pikmin's stem drooped in disappointment as it watched its leader walk away. It ran behind him and scurried to his feet, letting out a few anticipated squeaks.

Olimar gently patted its head. "Later."

By this point, the plant-like creature was confused. Why wasn't its leader issuing out commands yet? Was he sick? It watched Olimar return towards his ship and sit beside it. It caught the site of his face. That cheerful smile was replaced by a worried frown. Maybe he was sick.

Deciding to no longer hesitate, the Pikmin scurried back and forth, plucking blades of grass in its wake. Olimar quizzically gazed at the spectacle before him.

_Just what exactly is it up to? _He thought. He continued watching the Pikmin's bizarre antics. _Hmm. I'll have to record this in my journal later._

The Pikmin squeaked in failure. No nectar here. It glanced around for more grass but none were found. Then it turned around. There! It was right there. Right by Olimar. Letting out a squeal of joy, it dashed over as quickly as possible to the grass.

Pluck, pluck, pluck… Yes! Now sitting in front of it was a blob of golden nectar. Without wasting a second, the Pikmin trotted towards its leader, who had been watching in silence the whole time. It pointed towards the succulent goop.

"Oh, I guess you can go ahead and eat it."

The Pikmin shook its head, the leaf at the end of the stem swishing to and fro. With its tiny arms it imitated carrying a Dwarf Bulborb corpse. Then it pointed at the nectar and then at Olimar.

Olimar finally understood. "That's… that's for me?" His answer was nothing more than a delightful squeak. He appreciated the offer, but just how was he supposed to eat it?

"Thank you, but I'm not sure if I can eat this." Olimar saw the Pikmin's eyes fill with rejection. It tried so hard to find some nectar for him and what does he do? He declines the offer. Gently, he wraps a hand around the tiny red waist and brings the little Pikmin to eye-level.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Thank you for the nectar. I'm grateful, really."

The Pikmin let out a contented squeak in knowing that it did a job well done. Olimar, on the other hand, still felt upset. Part of him knew that he had to escape the planet but the other half was concerned if he were to fail. Sensing this sudden behavior, the plant-like creature gave him a questionable squeak.

"I'm alright," he reassured. There was still a slight tinge of longing in his voice. "It's just… I'm afraid of the possibility of not being able to return home again." He tapped his helmet. "You see, I can't breathe the same air as you or any other creature on this planet. The oxygen here is very hazardous to my kind which is why I need to get back home." He knew his little friends didn't quite understand but it didn't hurt to at least try to explain. He can't stay too long or else…

The Pikmin cooed a sympathetic hum and patted Olimar's helmet. The captain knew that it was worried for him. He smiled softly and placed the creature back on the ground. It saw the smile shining on its leader's face and jumped excitedly. It loved seeing him happy. It would've smiled right back if it had a mouth of its own.

The content squeak was music to Olimar's ears. Then the squeak turned into the imitation of the whistle. Olimar laughed.

"You really want to get to work now, don't you?" A nod was his response. "All right, then… Well, we do need more Pikmin…"

Without waiting for the rest of the order, the small red bundle dashed off to retrieve more food pellets. Olimar went to the Dolphin and returned with a small container in hand.

"Looks like I'll have something to eat other than those space noodles." He scooped up a few handfuls, leaving some for the Pikmin. He then noticed something red out of the corner of his eye and turned. The little Pikmin was standing right beside him and pointed in the direction of the red Onion. A few red sprouts circled around its perimeter.

The Pikmin stared at its master as it waited for any recognition of a job well done. It gave him a concerned squeak, snapping the captain out of his reverie.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm alright." He patted its head and went to pluck the newly born seeds.

The Pikmin continued to look at him. Why was its leader still upset?

Olimar could feel the little Pikmin's gaze on him as he plucked the remaining sprouts. He knew they would do anything to help. He depended on them for survival just like they depended on him. But, if he were to fail…

He shook his head, dismissing the negative thoughts."It's best not to think about that," he said to himself. "Now isn't the time. I have to find the missing parts."

The sun was now shining above the blue sky. Olimar, now determined, proceeded on calling the Pikmin for duty. The single red one watched him direct the others before turning to the nectar. The whistle sounded but it wouldn't budge. Noticing this strange behavior, the captain walked over to the spot.

The red bundle pointed to the leftover nectar and accompanied it with a questionable hum.

"I left the rest for the leaf Pikmin."

Glancing around, it noticed that it was the only leaf Pikmin in the entire party. The ones that Olimar had plucked had already become buds. All the yellows and blues were already flowers. The little leaf looked up at him with admiring eyes.

"Go on…" Olimar scooped up the remaining nectar and brought it up to the creature. Within seconds the nectar was gone. The leaf that adorned the red stem became a bud, and then fully blossomed into a flower. The Pikmin squeaked happily.

Olimar noticed that the petals appeared to have more volume and a brighter shade of white compared to the others. Maybe, just like other species, the Pikmin have a means of distinguishing genders. The males seemed to have smaller petals as opposed to the females if one were to look closely. He hypothesized that seemed likely and mentally reminded himself to write that bit of information later on. He patted the new flower Pikmin.

"Think of it as a way of saying thank you." He smiled. "Now, let's get going."

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Darkness began to fall upon the forest as Olimar rushed back to the landing base. The Bulborbs, as well as other nocturnal predators, were beginning to wake up from their slumber, meaning that if he didn't get everyone back with him, a certain number of Pikmin will end up on the menu. The S.S. Dolphin and the Onions were finally coming into view…

"Thank goodness." He looked behind him and counted. "Good. Everyone's here." The usual dismissal routine followed. All the Pikmin trotted back into their Onions for the night. Except for one.

"Strange…" Olimar blew his whistle, yet it remained standing there in front of him. It was that same little Pikmin that had cheered him up earlier.

"Hurry." Another blow of the whistle. "We need to get going."

The red creature stayed put. This came as a major shock to the Hocotatian. It wasn't like any of the Pikmin to suddenly become disobedient. Perhaps there was a good explanation for this bizarre behavior.

Olimar could hear the footsteps of an approaching Bulborb. He frantically blew his whistle in order to get it to hurry up. It still didn't move. Why?

"Stubborn little thing, aren't you?" The little Pikmin let out a seemingly annoyed squeak, as if offended. Olimar paid no attention to it. He went to board the Dolphin in hopes the Pikmin will go in the Onion on its own. He was just about to enter the ship when he felt something tugging at his leg. Looking down, he saw the Pikmin hugging it. It looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Olimar couldn't resist that adorable gaze. His annoyed features quickly melted away. "Alright, you can ride with me in the Dolphin." He didn't want to argue, especially with nightfall quickly approaching.

The engine roared as the Dolphin and the Onions lifted off. Olimar set the vessel on auto-pilot and pulled out his journal. He began to write.

_Voyage Log_

_Day 12_

_With the help of the Pikmin, I've managed to acquire four ship parts today. I must admit that I was feeling rather skeptical in regards to my dire situation whether I would make it off this planet._

Olimar paused for a second. He glanced around the cockpit to notice that the little Pikmin had fallen asleep on his lap. He found it rather adorable as he listened to the soft squeaks. _Aww, she looks so cute sound asleep._ He then continued to write.

_However, this single red Pikmin had noticed my worried demeanor and had attempted to comfort me by bringing me nectar. I'll have to try it soon. She helped me see the brighter side of things. It was so adorable when she imitated my whistle. That really cheered me up. Although, I am curious as to why she insisted on riding the Dolphin. I believe the reason may be she just wanted to be sure if I was alright. Perhaps the Pikmin can sense when someone is in distress._

_I've taken notice that if observing rather closely, the Pikmin seem to have genders. The females appear to have a more beautiful bloom atop their stems and are slightly larger than those of the males. It's strange; I didn't quite expect this discovery. _

_Now that all the parts have been collected within the forest I can return to the Forest Navel to do the same. My heart is now filled with renewed determination. And it's all thanks to this little Pikmin. I have been considering on giving her a name. I know I shouldn't become so attached to the creatures considering their life span isn't so long and could suddenly end within a heartbeat. But to be honest I could care less. She has reminded me to not lose hope so quickly no matter the situation. Because of this, I have decided to give her the name Hope._


End file.
